This a completely serious question, my wife and I are curious, we have a 6 month old male puppy, just started training. He is very mouthy, teething. Great dog, very playful but he loves to play bite, is it bad if I bite him back? Tonight we were playing, he bit me in the neck/ear area, I immediately bit him back around his face, cheek eye area, he yelped and then backed off. Is it bad to do this? I should be the alpha, correct?

AndreaLS687

03-21-2014 07:35 AM

You shouldnt bite back. Of he bites turn around walk away and ignore him. He will learn that if he bites the fun end. Because he is still a puppy I suggest that you not put your face near his until he is older and well trained and unit you are 150% sure he won't bite

You should not bite your puppy. All GSD puppies are mouthy like that. They outgrow it. If he nips too hard then stop playing with him-game over. He will learn, but biting him is not appropriate.

LoveEcho

03-21-2014 08:35 AM

This is a really easy way to lose an eye. The alpha theory is outdated.

Correct ("no!"), redirect to an appropriate toy, and withold attention (the game is over). This is a phase, and patience and consistency is key. At this age, it's going to hurt even more, unfortunately- I'm curious, did you just get him? What do you mean by "just started training?"

HotBoarder

03-21-2014 12:06 PM

Thanks everyone, Dear Delta zur Bindenburg,

Actually we got him a couple months ago, let me rephrase that, shall I say "just got more serious about training, have a friend of a friend who is a police dog trainer for LAPD and awaiting meeting, he has begun the basics and is doing great." Thanks